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Using R1/10 series vs NN 3/4/5 series

I'm currently using an NN 3 with a Pentax K-5/Rokinon fisheye. I have the adjustments dialed in now to the point that getting good nadir stitch is usually not a problem. However, living in a large Japanese city, I usually head out to take panoramas on foot or on bicycle so keeping my setup as small and compact as possible is highly desirable.

For those of you who have used both the standard type pano heads and the ring-style, are you able to stitch your apex and nadir shots as precisely as you could with the standard NN3/4/5? Assuming you not changing lenses, are the R1/10s a compromise? Is it more difficult or easier to achieve equivalent results?

R1/ 10 is a compromise. It is a single row pano head. It works best for fisheyes with >170 deg vertical angle of view. For your lens, Zenith and nadir won't be as accurate. But if they are just sky and ground, it won't be a problem.

Here's an example of the Samyang (Rokinon) on a Pentax K5: http://www.360tacticalvr.com/blog/?p=218
You can't capture the zenith with the R1/R10 with this camera/lens combo without tilting the R1/R10. This means the zenthi/nadir is then offset, even using the R1/R10 nadir adaptor.

I used a Pentax Kx for this example, but the concept is identical. I used "viewpoint correction" in PTGUI to patch the zenith/nadir. Note that you can only use viewpoint correction on parallel flat surfaces. So if I'd been on a hillside with a curved dome roof this wouldn't have worked...